Tube-filling machine.



R. M. & G. J. CLARK. TUBE FILLING MAGHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNI: 414, 1909.

Patented Julie 14,1910.

R.' M. @ai o; J. CLARK. TUBE EILLING` MAGHINB. [urn-ummm rim-:D ,1min 14., 1909,

amy-28.

UNITED STATESu PATENT oFFien.

4noamfar' Mig'omax, oF"NEw'roN, 'AND eApwALniinnn J. CLARK, er minimum; 'nue feige-Eveline AssIGNons To CENTRAL RAILWAY SIGNAL contrANY, or Prere-y 1 BUBLmENNsYLvANIA. a Celeron-Arion' or new" JERSEY.

TUBE-FILLING MACHINE.

's piacation flLeiters Panini.

Patented. I une 14., 1910"..

Application Hled .Tune 14, l1909. ySerialv No. 502,086.

' To all wuo'm it may concern."

f01lr, in Said State, both citizens of the United Sta-tes, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tube-Filling Mir' ehine's, of which the'" followinggv is a. full.

-e1'ear, anfi exact description, reference being had. to the accompanying d rawings,fo rn1 ing a pai-t ofthis specification, in'explaining its vnatu-re.. y QurinYention vrelates especially .to a nmchine' for li'lllng tu-beswith a combustible material.

The essential-object of ouil invention is to provvide a machine of the above type having lnot only an improved Construction Ibut pos-v sessing also various adapt-abilities in its e131 eration as incident toits mlproved construe- 4tio1i,ai1 of which features can Vbestbe-'seen' and understoodl by reference to the. draw-I 25 vation, 2 shows theV maehinejin side ignre l-s'hows the machine frontelei4 elevation. .Fig` 3l 'shows the -machine in ver.- tlcal cross-section. Fig. 4 1s .a vertlcal, seetion of a vportion 4oi' the machine "to which.

.when in place with the frame' of he resting nponthein are' is' series ofn'hat be termerl.- plungeis '19, the same compr. rods having heads 13. l. ''iiese plungers s eeial reference will hereinafter .be made.

'ig-..5 is also avertieal seetion .of al portion.'

of the machine, anni Eig-. -6 is` a .cross sect-ion I .ofga detail of construction' tambien-special reference will hereinafterbe made..

In the drawings :-'-The frame offt'he inachine comprises. two sets -of nprights or posts-lvl; and Q-Q-and a connecting head.

"bar orA beamAS; .The posts 1 1, 2 '2 are re :ta 11., 1; u1arlyarranged, each post forming abonner ofthe' ramewiththe two sets of.l

...pests-.widely Se'farated from-,one another end-.the .postsifo each set suiieiently separated fol'jmyan ample elearanee .between- Tlle posts may be supported i n yany Suitable-y -mannen reeiably'bllt .into th 'e' base portionef the amefbetweenlitso pos-ite set's of nests.

ber of the tubes .in the rack.: The frame 9'is adapted to rest on theends. of :t1-ie; tribes after they have been placed in therack.l

f rols correspond ,in number with. them.. linnn number of tubespossible -twpiztee ni- 'theraek of the machine-and i-he pin .fr-ers the respeeti'vehoppers and ranithe tilbes.' To"'this operation, -howe ence wllibe 'made 1n vfnriber gletjL 1 guide thePhmgefedifiee.the@i or openings formed in' them through which 55 the tubes `are passed to stand .in a. vertical position with their bottom. fel-1deA resting upon the baseer foot board. 8 acting to Support' the same. The radi.: is of such size-vasto support a pluraizf'y of ltubes. W'e vprefer to make the racklai'ge enoiwb to accommodate several rows of tubes. ach tube has its own. hopper located above the saine foire# eeivng.; material or filling to be plnggedfint'o the tube during the operation oi" the naar chine. Te have, arranged whereby. these -lioppei's vmay be combined in a. single frame., 9 representing the frame oit'- hoppers .sind 10 1 the indivldual koppels-.in the nframe .which Correspond. inz number' with' the mun? order that vthe .frame 9 "mayf'be .prop located for the tseifeml hoppers to e pt-y 'I into the several tubes it wiii4 -be obserw'eci that the frame on its under side at the points forming the mouths ofits severalboppersjs provided with soekets -11 into wjhieh the of the tubes are adeafted to tit. as 'the frame of hoppers' is 'plac l the tubes.-

. upon tragende-Titz' Arranged-in; the frame above the libea are sofarranged'- and adapted to ope Such manner that .they will pass' 'h or lln'g contained in the hopp@ plungers '12 are, carried by what termed va carrier 14,' the piungers-- loosely through this-'carrier to fverfiealyfde? pend therefrom and -po'int- In the hoppens y anglfiends of the tubes with' ,thehegids 1319i. 1 the p lnngers .drawing agai1jist 1.b.e flipper -5 top side ofthe barrier, the pliingershang highs it were by their ibeate'i .thedr'arne belowthe cai-'rienl Q2 per plate 15.-fth ro1 1gh 'which' "the di Shanks ofthe piangere extendi' the si..

ias

l 30' then a tion-thereof.:` The carrier 14 is adapted and 4arranged to loevertically reciprocable in the fra'me while the guide 15 is fixed. 'Although the carrier may be lmade 4in one piece or 5' `beam we prefer to make it vby combining separate members 16 and 17, horizontally and'parallelly arranged' and separated from one another by space? blocks 18.'. The combined menbers forming the carrier are eX- tended' to passbetween thetwo sets of posts `at either side of the frame and to extend vsome little distance beyond the same. 'Ihat portion "of the'carrier or the members comprisingthe carrier located between the separate setsv of postsare wider than the spaces between the posts of each set on which account-.fthe carrier will. at either side have Vbearing a ainst the inner faces of the posts byV shguldgers 19 andv the posts will accordi 20 ingly actas guides restraining and directthe carrier' during its reciprocation.

The operation of'releiprocating the carrier is induced primarily by. aV pulley-,driven shaft 20 theends of which arejournaled to turn inv-boxes located inthe. head portion of hi im@ on the @nas @faire than 2o slot 26 and the. crank coperates with au the 1ink\-by means of a headed pin 27 eX- tending from the end ofjthe crank and located 1nsaid slot. Nowthe forni Vand ar-l rangements cf the cranks and' Slotted links .with1resp'cct to one another and tothe car- 445rier present various adaptabilities tending -to a proper and successful yoperation of the machlne. In the first place these parts when ope jted will act to cause ai vertical reciprocationof the carrierin the' frame, as.- sumlng of course thatthecarrieris freeto have such reciprocatbry movement'. Whenfree to -reciprocate .tl'ifi carrier and plungers carried by 1t willby their own weight upon the slotted'links until the 1ns births. respective crankscopera-te wat the links at 'the ends of the slots .thereim Thereupon as the cranks are turned theywill act lto intermittently lift the links and carrierl car-- them to an elevated position and operation being repeated as long asthecarrier is unrestrictedin its movement.'- Morenver the adaptationof theactuatingmechanism is preferably such -that'ithe' car'nier' 6I will act to lift the plungers 'clear -of 'the By 'reference to Figs; 2,

at which the carrier isbeing reciprocated.

W the Samet() fau'byffaltya thi'Sy-strong driving force or force of impaction hoppers and lends of the tubes on the up stroke ofthe carrier and on its down stroke will permit the plungers following the car rier to fall through the hoppers into the bases or lower parts of the tubes.-

In practice the filling or material to .beV filled into the tubes is placed in the hoppers in small charges which are successively forcedout of the hoppers and rammed into the tubes as the plungers pass into the tubes through the mass in the hoppers. The hopl pers are filled With successive small charges' preferably when the plungers are held in an inoperative position, as will hereinafter be explained.4 When the plungers are filling t-he material or mass into t-he bases of the ends of the tubes the lungers will fall so far that the carrier wi l-begin to raise the plungers just about on the reverse movement ofthe carrier following the limit of its down stroke. When, however, the tubes have 1become partly filled with material then-',the plungers on account Vof the filling in the tubes will fall a lessdistance and the carrier will accordingly not encounter the heads of 90 the plunger's for lifting the same until the carrier has returned on its return stroke a greater orless distance, the' carrier in the "meantime simply sliding over the plungers.

In fact, when the tubes are almost filled the carrier upon its return stroke will not encounter the heads of the plungers until the carrier has Well nigh reachedthe limit of its return or upward stroke (see-Fig. 4). ,Moreover b reason of the fact that theplungers act in ependently'of one another and loosely ioo .connecting as they do with the carrier, it

makes no difference how.\much or how little material may have been filled into a tube. Its plunger will stilloperate properly without the application o any undue"' force in ramming the material into the tube. In this connection attention is directed to the fact thatat no time during their'drop will the plungers be permitted to gather momentum, but at all timesv the speed at which the plungers drop will be determined'by and be commensurate 'with the speed at which the carrier drops, or in other words, the `speed While the carrier during its reciprocating movement drops by gravityV yet by. reason of the crank and link'connection the carrier can-drop'no faster thanI the rotary 4vmotion of the cranks permit. Accordingly the la) plungers will' beso controlledl that at. lall *times during `the filling'` ofthe tubes they `will drive the'lling material into the tubes v vwith a-.Ysubstantially even, relatively slow butr v125 impartedessentially by their own weight.

To vrevent the plunger-s fromlbeinggraised too ig'h or unevenly there 'may' 'be 'fixed in the machine above the' heads 'of' thelplungers `alabar QS-acting as astop. Another capa-lao bility ofthe crank 'and link connection with the carrier isthat the crankscoperate with .theiink'sin such manner as* toypermit the, continued operation of the V.driving shaft anda. cranks carried by it when the carrier and l plungers are maintained in an elevated position. if?.

It islnecessary to stop the .movement of plunger's and hold the ,esame in an elevatedA position when tubes are placed inthe machinelp'reparatory to illin them and in order also toremove the tion yl-means of the angularly bent: levers 29,' 30, iiXed -to a rod 31 extended between the two sides of the'frame and having bearment of the carrier and plungersuntil by a.

further or 'reverse turning of the rod k31 the aforesaid respective arms of the levers are .removed from the path of the carrier when it will be free to resume its further operation.

. In the mechanism we' have provided ar.-

rangement. is made whereby the levers 29, 30, will be influenced to maintain a normally engaging position for stopping the movement of the carrier! This is accomplished by means of a s ring 35 secured at one end to the arm 33,0 the lever 29, the other end of the spring being secured to the side 'of the frame, `the spring acting as a tension device to hold the levers in a normally engaging position as before mentioned. For the purpose of holding the levers in a disenga-ging position as against the tension of the spring 35 there is provided what may be termed a latch block 36 pivotally secured at the point 37 to the side of the frame and arranged whereby it may swing over the arm `33 of the levr 29 when it will act to prevent this lever and the lever 3() assuming their normal enaging position with respect to the carrier.'

helatch block is inuenced by a spring 38, interposed between it and the side of the frame, to normally assumel a position of enagement with the lever 29 for hold-ing both evers in a position of disengagement with.

respect to the carrier as aforesaid. `T he latch block may be withdrawn from its normal enaging position by a cord or chain=39 afxed to it and which chain extends inwardly from the block to pass over a pulley 40 to depend therefrom with a grip 4l on the end of the chain. Assuming now that the machine is operating and the carrier and plungers reciprocating,the-.reciprocatory motion of the carrier and plnngers .may b e stopped without stopping the machine simply by drawingupon thefcordO bythe grip 41, for

lled tubes. The pluners are maintained in an elevated nosiy thereu on the latch block will be withd rawn from tl e arm of the lever 29 when both the .levers 2 9 and 30 will assume their normal engaging `position,and block further motionk of.

the carrier." 'At this sametimerthe initial v driving mechanism may continue'to operate` inasmuch as such can operate independently of the rrier owing to the slots yin the links V"23, t e pins 27 on the cranks simply ruuning loosely in these slots and the cranks accordingly simply'rocking the links on their pivotalsupports. VIt will be understood of course. that the time for withdrawing the .latch block and releasing the levers into an engaging. position for stopping the carrier and plungers is when the carrier has reached or is near the limit of its upwardA stroke.l The carrier will then have lifted the plungers to a position away from the tubes and hoppers in which the plungers are operating `and the filled tubes can beremoved and -un- Viilled ones placed in the machine. The carrier may then be released to operate simply by turning the rod 31 until the levers 29, 30 assume a disengaging position `out of the path of the carrier when the block 36 controlled as it is by vthe tension device 38 willslip in over the lever 29 and hold it and Athe lever .30 in their positions ofdisengagement l with respect to thecarrier during the filling ofthe fresh set of tubes.

The manner of operating the machine is as follows: The carrier and plungers are first caught and held in an elevated position; tubes are then placed in the raciti The frame lof-hoppers is then placed on the ends 'of the tubes and the hoppers filled each with a proper amount of filling material. The

carrier and plungers are then released to operate. After` the filling of the tubes the carrier and plungers are again caught in 'an elevated position and the Aoperation repeated.

Having thus lfully, described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States l. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a supporting frame, of a plunger, a carrier for said plunger reciprocable in said frame for intermittently lifting said 'plunger and with which carrier said plunger is adapted to coperate in a manner whereby said plunger may .fall by gravity from an elevated position when lifted by said carrier during the operation thereof, actuating means for reciprocating said carrier, and meanswhereby said plunger may be maintained in an elevated position during the continued operation of said actuating means.

'2. In a machine of the character specified, the combination with a supporting frame, of a plunger, a carrier for said plunger'reciprocable in said. frame for intermittently lifting said plunger and with which carrier said plunger is adapted to coperate in a ranner whereby said plunger may `fall by.

gravity"fr'om" an elevated position when lifted "by `seid carrier duringlthe operation thereof, iactuatingff ineens y fon reciprocating said carrier, the samelconnectin with said carrerinr a manner whereby sai actuating means may continuegto operate 'independ-v` ently' of said crrier when saiidvcerrier4 and ,the plunger carried byfit is held in an elevated position;` and means for holding 'saidk 4 carrier infjan elevated position. i

3: In 'a machine of the' character specified', the `c'on1b i1` 1e1tion witte/af supporting freme,' of a plunger, zucmzrier.f'or said plunger nreciprocable 'in Saidtframeffor intermittently lifting said plunger und? with @which carrier'` said plunger 4is adapted' to coperatein a manner.whereby?,Seidl-plunger may fall by gravity fi0man`el`evetcd` positionl Willenl'ifted by sid carrier during Athe operatlcnv thereof, y 'ctua'tngi` ineens for reciprocating said' carrier thesanie cmprisingfa rotary shaft, a crink curredhy 'said shaft and a 'link-forming connectionv betweensaid crank [and carrergfsud link'being adapted where- Yby said cranklinay-'eperete to rock seidlinig Y liftedA by said carrier, durillgvh Cillraffly n thereof,Y actuating `means for lrgiplmmtingti Sid carrerythe same vcomprisingin,pmlt Aslotted. link pivotally conneetingwith rsa-lid Withotimparting motion tosaid `carrier yWhen-=seicl1carrien is heldin, :inl elevated p o- 5 :my

carrier `and a ,rotary driving crank4 .looselyL .coperating withsuidlink at yjiointfqf". the slot formed therein,V andy niea'n'slvvhe'xfeby.`

the operation of said cerriermayfbe'stopped 'v ""v'i Awhen saidv carrier' andV they pIunger`cai-ried' by it are in an, elevated positlon.

RoBERr M. CLARK; g

i CADWALLADER J; CLARK."

Witnesses;v i t i 'if JOHNLERLLHAYESQ- JQHN D. MoPHnnscN. 

